These are minor technical drafting amendments to delete the word "threatens" as the legal advice is that this is covered by the word "coerces" in sections 12, 21, 24, 35, 42 and 46. Similarly, amendments Nos. 16, 35, 39, 73, 76 and 82 are minor technical drafting amendments to sections 12, 21, 24, 35, 42 and 46 to ensure it is clear that it is an offence to induce, coerce or request without lawful authority a member of Garda personnel to commit an offence under the previous subsection.

There may be some confusion over what focused monitoring is and what An Garda Síochána can do to monitor movement of vehicles using automatic number plate recognition. To start, ANPR is already widely used by An Garda Síochána for roads policing and this Bill will not change that. The provisions of this section and section 19 are expanding Garda use of ANPR to include focused monitoring. Focused monitoring, monitoring the movements of a particular vehicle, can only happen if a vehicle, the subject of the focused mo…

On amendments Nos. 24 and 25, in the section as it stands, this is already achieved. Internal approval for focused monitoring can be varied but the duration of the approval cannot exceed three months, as set out in section 18(3)(a), to which section 18(5) is subject. I direct the Senators to page 14, line 15, where it states that a member of An Garda Síochána may: "vary, subject to subsection (3)(a), the duration of an approval granted under this section" and to subsection 18(3)(a), which ends on page 14, line 2, a…

It will be a matter for the Garda Commissioner to specify whether the technical and software specifications are included in the application process. I direct the Senator to sections 27(2)(d) and 28(2)(e) of the Bill. Further details of the requirements for community CCTV will be published in a code of practice for both Garda and local authority schemes. I would highlight to Senators Ruane and Flynn that where amendments are made to CCTV under an authorisation, for example, if additional cameras are included, if the…

I move: That Dáil Éireann resolves that the period of operation of sections 1 to 7 and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (No. 14 of 2021) be extended for a further period of six months, beginning on the 1st day of December, 2023 and ending on the 31st day of May, 2024. I am introducing a resolution on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to extend the sunset clause in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021. The extension of this Act will allow the hospitality sector to…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions on what is an important motion. I take on board the comments about what was intended to be a temporary legislation introduced in an emergency to allow people to socialise in the context of a very serious situation concerning Covid-19. Thankfully, Covid-19 has receded to a large degree. It is still there and still impacts our hospitals quite significantly and we have to be very much aware of that. This is one of the positive things that came out of that Covid-19 situation…

Lots of things are.

There are two definitions of temporary. One is short term and the other is non-permanent and how long is a piece of string in between? In the context of 200-year-old alcohol legislation, which is quite complex, it is challenging to draft up the permanent legislation. Obviously, one could do a piece simply on this but we want to do a bit more reform on alcohol legislation. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, expects to have that early next year, around February. I cannot give certainty as to how quickly that l…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum s…

I thank Deputies for their important contributions on what we will all agree is an important opportunity to opt in to the proposal to strengthen victims' rights and access, discussed in today's motion. I will respond to some of the issues raised. We always have a tight timeline in these types of opt-in scenarios. Unfortunately, under Article 3, we only have three months from the date of publication in all languages to opt-in. It is important we do so under Article 3, so that we can be part of the discussion to shap…

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising the very important matter of proposals for family law reform with particular reference to the need for an indicative timescale. As the Deputy is aware, we are leading an ambitious programme of family justice reform. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I published the family justice strategy in November of last year. It sets out a vision for a family justice system of the future. This system will focus on the needs and rights of children and will assist their parents in making decisio…

I can assure the Deputy that the review is a priority for the Department. The voice of the child in court proceedings is essential to everything this Department does in terms of reviews. In relation to parental alienation, as the Deputy will be aware, my Department published a research report and policy paper on parental alienation on our website last May. Officials from the Department also briefed Oireachtas Members and stakeholder groups on the recommendations of the paper. Both the paper and the report recognise…

I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of the measures undertaken by the Department to reduce citizenship application processing times in particular in respect of applications submitted in 2021 and 2022. My Department is focused on improving the naturalisation process for applicants and reducing the backlog of cases as soon as possible. Additional staff have been assigned and services are being digitised and streamlined. Thanks to these measures, the number of cases processed has increased by more than…

Regarding the backlog, I fully appreciate applicants for citizenship wish to have their decision made as quickly as possible and without any delay. There certainly has been a backlog but it is one we are working through as quickly as possible. The nature of the naturalisation process is such that for a broad range of reasons some cases take longer than others to process. In some cases, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time. However, it is important to note that the current backlog i…

If the Deputy wants to give me details of the specific case, I can look into that particular situation.

Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts in any process when dealing with a backlog, such as how many applications will be made in a particular year and, of course, as the Deputy mentioned, staffing as well, but it is being given priority. We are moving to a digitisation of e-vetting, replacing a largely paper-based process with a simple email link. This is speeding up the process significantly. Some who have started the e-vetting have probably been processed a bit more quickly than those who were in the system a…

I thank the Deputy for asking this very important question on the action the Department is taking to ensure provision of appropriate facilities and interview suites in Courts Service buildings for those who are vulnerable or who have invisible or visible disabilities. The Government has invested substantial additional resources into the Courts Service in recent years to support the modernisation programme it is implementing. The Deputy will appreciate that the management of the courts is the responsibility of the C…

I again thank the Deputy for her very important question. In addition to its approach to physical facilities the Courts Service is also continuing to invest in initiatives to improve the experience of all court users. I will mention two projects in particular, the first is the "just a minute", JAM, card. The Courts Service provided JAM card training to all of its staff in 2021. As the Deputy is aware, this card allows people with a hidden disability or communication barrier to tell others that they need extra time …

I hear the Deputy's genuine concerns on this issue in regard to disabilities both obvious and hidden. As I say in terms of physicality we are putting in that programme to ensure our courts are accessible but also in terms of training for people to be able to deal with vulnerable witnesses, vulnerable victims and all vulnerable court users so they can be dealt with in a sympathetic manner. That training will continue to be rolled out. Ensuring access to justice for everybody, in particular for those people who are v…

My colleague, the Minister for Justice, has informed the House about the record justice budget for 2024, which prioritises building stronger and safer communities. The future of our communities lies with our young people, and I warmly welcome the allocation of €33 million for youth justice, which is an increase of 10% or €3 million. This will have a significant impact on individual young people, their families and their communities. Youth justice projects have changed the lives of young people and have helped them …